Established: As a technical service of the army by General Order
62, War Department, June 28, 1918, consolidating scattered
functions relating to gas offense and defense. Name changed to
the Chemical Corps, September 6, 1946, by act of August 2, 1946
(60 Stat. 861).

Predecessor Agencies:

In the Department of the Interior:

War Gas Investigations, Bureau of Mines (1917-18)

In the War Department:

Chemical Service Section, National Army (1917-18)

Gas Defense Division, Surgeon General's Office (1917-18)

Gas Offense Production Division, Office of the Chief of Ordnance (1917-18)

Transfers: To War Department General Staff (WDGS) as a technical
staff division, 1939; to Services of Supply (SOS), effective
March 9, 1942, by Circular 59, War Department, March 2, 1942, as
part of a War Department reorganization authorized by EO 9082,
February 28, 1942; SOS redesignated Army Service Forces (ASF) by
General Order 14, War Department, March 12, 1943; to WDGS upon
abolishment of ASF, effective June 11, 1946, by Circular 138, War
Department, May 14, 1946, implementing EO 9722, May 13, 1946; to
the Army Staff, Department of the Army, upon reorganization of
the armed services under the National Security Act of 1947 (61
Stat. 495), July 26, 1947.

175.2 Records of the Office of the Chief Army Chemical Officer
1918-60

History: Research investigations by the United States into use of
toxic gas as an instrument of war began with the establishment of
a research unit, War Gas Investigations (WGI), in the Bureau of
Mines, Department of the Interior, March 1917, and by the
appointment of a subcommittee on noxious gases by the Military
Committee of the National Research Committee, April 3, 1917.
Responsibility for procurement of gas masks and training of
personnel in their use was transferred from WGI to the Gas
Defense Division, Surgeon General's Office, August 31, 1917.
Responsibility for manufacturing and filling gas shells was
assigned, 1917, to the Gas Offense Production Division, Ordnance
Department, at Edgewood Arsenal, MD. By memorandum from the Chief
of Staff to the Adjutant General, October 16, 1917, Chemical
Service Section, National Army, was established to provide the
American Expeditionary Forces with overseas research and
investigation capability, and a coordinating Office of Gas
Service was established in the War Department. WGI transferred to
War Department by EO 2984, June 25, 1918. Functions consolidated
in Chemical Warfare Service, 1918. See 175.1.

Textual Records: Records relating to the War Department Civilian
Protection Schools, including correspondence, lists and
photographs of students and faculty, and class schedules, 1942-
43; histories, August 1943; and an instruction directive,
February 6, 1943.

Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.